Alcohol-Containing Mouthwashes Strongly Linked to Increased Oral Cancer Risk
Top independent experts have called for mouthwashes that contain alcohol to be immediately removed from store shelves. This is after the experts had looked at latest available scientific information on these products, which suggest that they can cause oral cancer.
The experts language was clear - there was "sufficient evidence" that "alcohol-containing mouthwashes contribute to the increased risk of development of oral cancer".
The review had looked at and reported on several studies from around the world. One such international study had looked at the habits of 3,210 people and found that the use of mouthwash on a daily basis was a "significant risk factor" for developing head and neck cancers. This was regardless of whether the mouthwash users smoked cigarettes or drank alcohol.
Although the risks were larger for those who smoked and used mouthwash (9 times the risk of getting the said cancers), as well as for those who drank and used mouthwash (more than 5 times the risk), even mouthwash users who neither smoked nor drank experienced a significant increase in cancer risk - a whopping 4 to 5 times.
Separately, a review which was published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology expressed "doubts about the safety of alcohol-containing oral products" and stated that it would be "prudent, precautionary public-health policy to generally refrain from using ethanol in (mouthwash) products".
Dangers of Alcohol in Mouthwashes
How might the alcohol in mouthwashes increase cancer risk? One possibility is that the ethanol in mouthwashes could allow carcinogens to more easily penetrate the mouth lining, thereby allowing more damage to be done. In addition, acetaldehyde, a poisonous by-product of alcohol, could accumulate in the mouth when someone gargles mouthwash. Cancer risk could then be elevated because this compound might have cancer-causing properties.
Unlike alcoholic drinks, which are an established cancer risk factor, the role of mouthwashes had been iffy. However, many brands of mouthwashes in fact contain higher levels of alcohol than alcoholic beverages themselves. And while such drinks are swallowed, mouthwashes are kept in the mouth for longer periods of time. With the formation of acetaldehyde and the role of ethanol also at play, the risk factors of alcoholic mouthwashes are thus multi-fold.
In a strange way, because alcoholic beverages are consumed for pleasure and recreation purposes, they seem to then have a "license" to be harmful for health. Mouthwashes, on the other hand, are marketed as health products, which thus makes it very ironic that they could be cancer-causing. But then again, those of us familiar with the workings of conventional medicine would be well aware that many of the products and methods it pushes are in fact dangerous for human health.
The Need to Reassess the Use of Alcohol-Containing Mouthwashes
According to market surveys, mouthwash use is on the up. And Listerine, consists of as much as 26% alcohol. Combined with the available research information discussed earlier, these facts surely make for worrying reading.
One possible alternative is alcohol-free versions of commercial mouthwashes. Better still, one could use herbal mouthwashes, which are a viable, effective and much safer option, although they may also be more difficult to find.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/025581_mouthwash_cancer_alcohol.html#ixzz2f8NHGScp
Top independent experts have called for mouthwashes that contain alcohol to be immediately removed from store shelves. This is after the experts had looked at latest available scientific information on these products, which suggest that they can cause oral cancer.
The experts language was clear - there was "sufficient evidence" that "alcohol-containing mouthwashes contribute to the increased risk of development of oral cancer".
The review had looked at and reported on several studies from around the world. One such international study had looked at the habits of 3,210 people and found that the use of mouthwash on a daily basis was a "significant risk factor" for developing head and neck cancers. This was regardless of whether the mouthwash users smoked cigarettes or drank alcohol.
Although the risks were larger for those who smoked and used mouthwash (9 times the risk of getting the said cancers), as well as for those who drank and used mouthwash (more than 5 times the risk), even mouthwash users who neither smoked nor drank experienced a significant increase in cancer risk - a whopping 4 to 5 times.
Separately, a review which was published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology expressed "doubts about the safety of alcohol-containing oral products" and stated that it would be "prudent, precautionary public-health policy to generally refrain from using ethanol in (mouthwash) products".
Dangers of Alcohol in Mouthwashes
How might the alcohol in mouthwashes increase cancer risk? One possibility is that the ethanol in mouthwashes could allow carcinogens to more easily penetrate the mouth lining, thereby allowing more damage to be done. In addition, acetaldehyde, a poisonous by-product of alcohol, could accumulate in the mouth when someone gargles mouthwash. Cancer risk could then be elevated because this compound might have cancer-causing properties.
Unlike alcoholic drinks, which are an established cancer risk factor, the role of mouthwashes had been iffy. However, many brands of mouthwashes in fact contain higher levels of alcohol than alcoholic beverages themselves. And while such drinks are swallowed, mouthwashes are kept in the mouth for longer periods of time. With the formation of acetaldehyde and the role of ethanol also at play, the risk factors of alcoholic mouthwashes are thus multi-fold.
In a strange way, because alcoholic beverages are consumed for pleasure and recreation purposes, they seem to then have a "license" to be harmful for health. Mouthwashes, on the other hand, are marketed as health products, which thus makes it very ironic that they could be cancer-causing. But then again, those of us familiar with the workings of conventional medicine would be well aware that many of the products and methods it pushes are in fact dangerous for human health.
The Need to Reassess the Use of Alcohol-Containing Mouthwashes
According to market surveys, mouthwash use is on the up. And Listerine, consists of as much as 26% alcohol. Combined with the available research information discussed earlier, these facts surely make for worrying reading.
One possible alternative is alcohol-free versions of commercial mouthwashes. Better still, one could use herbal mouthwashes, which are a viable, effective and much safer option, although they may also be more difficult to find.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/025581_mouthwash_cancer_alcohol.html#ixzz2f8NHGScp
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